Steps

1.
Get rid of the surface oil on the fried bean curd by boiling them for 1 to 2 minutes and draining them on a sieve until cooled. Wash the hijiki seaweed and rehydrate in plenty of water to cover until softened.

2.
Put the tofu, hijiki seaweed, ground meat and finely julienned carrot in a bowl and mix well together with your hands in the same way you'd mix hamburger meat.

3.
Add the flavoring ingredients - soy sauce, sugar, sake, and grated ginger - in a pan. Stuff the fried bean curd with the mixture from step 2 and line up the filled pockets in the pan. Start cooking over high heat, and when it comes to a boil lower the heat and simmer gently for about 10 minutes.

4.
The pockets will become nice and puffy. Poke one of the pockets in the middle of the filling with a chopstick, and if the liquid runs clear they are done. Take the pockets out of the pan, leaving the cooking liquid.

5.
Thicken the liquid with katakuriko dissolved in water (not listed). It'll be better if the sauce is a bit on the thick and creamy side.

Story Behind this Recipe

Small fried bean curd skins and tofu were cheap so I tried making this with them.

Helpful Hints

You don't have to drain the water from the tofu. If you choose a pan in which the bean curd pockets fit exactly, they won't fall apart and will look great when done. A frying pan may work too. If you pile the pockets up high on a big plate and pour the shiny smooth sauce over it, it will be a very eye-catching dish. I can usually make this in under 30 minutes.